English Form for Haikai Verse by Prof. Atsuo Nakagawa

Prof. Atsuo Nakagawa suggests that in looking for a fixed form for English haiku (et al), that is closest to the Japanese way, He would choose as 1 way, writing ku in a vertical line. BUT he said he didn't believe in letting a poly-syllabic word have as much weight as a 1 syl one...so he suggested splitting every poly-syllabic word into mono-syllables and use them. He also suggests that since regular ku is supposed to have on pause in it (not all but most), then include that pause when rendering it in one vertical column, OR write it in two columns. Prof. Nakagawa says the only problem with this form is the use of split words, which was introduced by avant-garde poets several yrs before his writing of this book (¨Haiku In English¨ 1976). He says this ´form´s´ disagreeableness wld be in the ´unnaturalness´ of the split words.